Beauty of artistic conception: there is feeling within the scene, and scene within the feeling, feeling and scene blending together; the key lies in seeking its spirit and charm.

Pines vary in height, crookedness and straightness, and the key is to seek their vigour

"Listening to the Pines in the Empty Valley" Five-needle pine by Shen Shuiquan

Junipers vary in oddity, witheredness and flourishing, and the key is to seek their unadorned simplicity

Work by Wang Yongkang with true juniper

Weeping trees: the key is to seek their tender feeling

Littleleaf Cotoneaster, work by Huang Bohua

Cascade trees: the key is to seek their perilous strangeness

"Roaming Dragon Longs for Its Old Abyss" Black pine, work by Xu Ronglin

Flowering trees: the key is to seek their gorgeous brilliance

"A Glance Back with a Smile, Spring Throughout the Garden" work by Wu Chengfa

Fruit trees: the key is to seek their abundant richness

"Ten Thousand Households' Lights" Pomegranate, work by Wang Luxiao

Spring trees: the key is to seek their vitality

Banyan, work by Tang Huiling

Summer trees: the key is to seek their lush abundance

"Layered Green" Maple, Humble Administrator's Garden

Autumn trees: the key is to seek their red leaves

Work by Wu Yisun

Winter trees: the key is to seek their cold-weather bearing

Work by Wu Chengfa

The upright posture: steady and balanced, neither leaning nor slanting

"Standing Tall Between Heaven and Earth" Chinese elm, Xu Ronglin

The calm posture: fine rain and gentle breeze, unruffled by waves

"Ancient Pine Gathering Green" Osaka pine, Zhang Xiaobao

The flourishing posture: full of vitality, radiant with youth

"Two Heroes Shine Again" Banyan, Peng Shengtao

The welcoming posture: bowing deeply with a long salute, courteous and polite

"Greeting Pine" Black pine, work by Fu Jianming

The elegant posture: a graceful gentleman, beauty that is a feast for the eyes

"A Gentleman's Worthy Mate" work by Wang Hengliang

The towering posture: like the Buddha at the summit of Mount Fotou, like the cloud-supporting stone supporting clouds

"Fate" Orange jessamine on stone, Jiang Guobin

The cascading posture: the waters of the Yellow River come from heaven, a flying stream plunges three thousand chi straight down

"The Flying Stream Plunges Straight Down" Small-leaf banyan, Zeng Wuzi

The mighty posture: a flying roc pouncing on a tiger, a coiled dragon churning the river

"Dominating a Region" Orange jessamine, He Zhipeng

The perilously strange posture: a hundred-chi high tower, a boulder falling from a peak

"Proud Bones Riding the Wind" Mountain mandarin, work by Wu Chengfa

The extraordinarily elegant posture: noble and ethereal, transcendent and free of the mundane

"High and Ethereal Love" Orange jessamine, Xiao Yongjia

The ruggedly towering posture: old trunks and twisted branches, gnarled roots and interlocking knots

True juniper, collection of Geng Garden

Following the flow: duckweed drifting with the water, going with the waves

Orange jessamine, collection of Xu Wen

Against the flow: cloud mountains rolling back, hanging like a golden hook

Work from the 2017 Golden Autumn Bonsai Exhibition of Changde City

The galloping posture: raising the whip to urge the horse, perilously crossing the mountain pass

"Galloping" Chinese plum, Luo Hansheng